Unwanted, Unaccepted, and Unnoticed
by CrypticMoonFang
Summary: Serena is a super-hot high-school girl who's just looking for love. Unfortunately, every boy at school looks at her body and could care less about her personality. But then the new kid, Darien Shields, seems to be her dream guy. Will love bloom?
1. Chapter 1

-Chapter 1-

There was once a girl who was always a happy girl. She was loving, caring, and kind. Everything a girl should be, right? Well, this girl was also constantly conflicting inside her mind. She wasn't mental or anything, but she never felt what most people feel when they hear the word "love". This girl was said to be astounding, beautiful, and stunning. Well, guess what? That was how the girl was on the outside. And guess what else? That girl's name happened to be my name. Serena. Guess what else else? You might've already picked up on this, but_ I_ was that girl you read about. And what you're about to read is my story. Or at least, one of my stories. I have many actually. Okay, what about this? I tell them all in direct sequence, alright?

I was reading my book about a vampire's unwavering love for a dying human when I heard my father call my name. My book was immediately slammed shut and thrown to the ground. I wasn't angry with him, but I was always the girl who would do anything someone told her to do. Yep, that was me. That image in your head? That would be me. Keep it there for future reference. So anyways, I put my book down and rushed downstairs. I listened intently as my father told me the details of what he wanted: a non-fat hot chocolate with chocolate sprinkles on top and whipped cream underneath the sprinkles.

In just a matter of seconds I dashed into the kitchen to hurry up with his order. I loved pleasing my family. It was everyone else I hated. Why did everyone see me as a carefree, mindless girl? Nobody, not even my own family, saw me for who I really was. I never asked for help, and most of the time I wouldn't accept it. I sat alone at lunch for my own private reasons. Every time I dared to look into a mirror, I saw a glint of loneliness and fear glimmering in my eyes. I didn't know when or if that look would ever go away. I hated myself and everyone around me. A beep interrupted my thoughts of self-pity. It was the microwave.

I returned to my father with the mug of hot chocolate. He thanked my dryly and began sipping his hot cocoa. He returned to watching television. I didn't need to look to know what he was watching. He was a guy, so it was either the news or sports. Neither of which I really cared for. I dragged my feet as I went back upstairs. I didn't know why, but I was, once more, feeling down in the dumps. Why? Why did I always feel that way? Well, go ask someone who might know, because I couldn't tell you to save my life. But it seemed as though I was always in some sort of pain and misery.

The radio was on in my room. I leisurely flipped through numerous stations until I came across a somewhat-familiar song called Pain, by Three Days Grace. I listened carefully to each and every word, knowing that that song pretty much summed up how I was feeling. It went something like this:

**Pain. With-out love. Pain. I can't get e-nough.**

**Pain. I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than no-thing at a-a-all.**

**You're sick! Of feelin' down. You're not! The on-ly one. **

**I'll take! You by the hand, and I'll show you a world that you can un-derstand.**

**This life! Is filled with hurt. When hap-piness. Does-n't work.**

**Trust me! And take my hand. When the lights go up, you'll understa-a-and...**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! With-out love. PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! Can't get e-nough.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! With-out love. PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! Can't get e-nough.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.**

**An-ger. And ag-on-y. Are bet-ter. Than mis-er-y.**

**Trust me. I've got a plan. When the lights go up, you'll understand...**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! With-out love. PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! Can't get e-nough.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! With-out love. PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! Can't get e-nough.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than no-thing! Rather. Feel. PAIN!**

**I know. I know. I know. I know. I know that you-r world is.**

**Ya know. Ya know. Ya know. Ya know. That I'm here to save you.**

**Ya know. Ya know. Ya know. Ya know. I'm al-ways here for you.**

**I know. I know. I know. I know. That you'll thank me later.**

**Pain. With-out love. Pain. I can't get e-nough. **

**Pain. I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! With-out love. PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! Can't get e-nough.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! With-out love. PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! Can't get e-nough.**

**PAI-ai-ai-ai-AIN! I like it rough, 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all. Rather feel pain than nothing at all. Rather. Feel. PAIN!**

The song ended with a few drum beats. Like I said before, that song pretty much summed up how I felt. Nothing could've been more accurate at the time. I flipped through some more stations before deciding I didn't want to listen to any more music. One song was good enough for now. I uneventfully found my page in my book and started reading from the spot where I left off at. I read all night long, until I finally realized it was way past my bedtime. My digital alarm clock was glowing in luminous red characters. The time was 12:24am. Late, considering I had school tomorrow. I reluctantly set my alarm for 5:30am and changed into my pajamas. I cleaned my room, which really didn't need that much work done to it, and flopped in my bed. Oh, man! I loved the feeling you get when you've been working hard and you're tired, then you get to jump right into place on your bed! There's no other feeling like that feeling right there!

It didn't take too long before I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

A steady buzzing sound reached my half-conscious ears. The most annoying and most hated sound in the world. I knew I had to get up quickly or else that same annoying, hated, buzzing sound would lull me back to sleep. Then I'd miss the bus and I'd be tardy for school and I'd be in so much trouble!

I slowly dragged myself out of my safe, warm, comfy bed. I hated to leave that warmth and security, but I hated getting in trouble even more. I'd say it took me a good ten minutes just to get completely out of bed. I tilted my head from looking at the ground to looking at the alarm clock. I took a self-note that morning: Make sure you don't set your alarm clock to 4:30am when you want a little more sleep.

One of the worst parts that morning was that every little sound that ranged from a bing to a bop to a bang irritated me. The usual daily, or morningly, noises seemed much louder. Plus, I could hardly keep my head up, let alone talk. Actually, I could've sworn my eyes were going to fall out of my head. Yes, readers! It was very bad... Somehow I managed to push through the morning without missing the bus. While I was riding the bus, I desperately wanted to put on my headphones and listen to just one measly song. That's a no-no, though! If I did that, the music would for sure put me back to sleep. I almost-chuckled softly. I mean, all I had to do was wait for what seemed like an eternity before I could relax once more in my soft bed! Now, what's not to love about that, hm?

I dug through my backpack, still hardly able to stay awake, and found a water bottle that contained emergency room-temperature high-caffeinated coffee. It was black, almost burnt at that, and beyond bitter, but I opened my emergency sugar packet and dumped the whole thing in. Normally I'm not allowed to have coffee, but this, as I've stressed, was an emergency! I gulped it down as fast as I could, being as the sugar lent next to no help with the flavor, and nearly choked on the taste. I put the nearly-empty container back into my backpack.

I couldn't help but overhear a bit of small talk that was going on throughout the boys on the bus. I was used to hearing it, but that didn't mean I liked it. All of them were talking about my looks and betting on my weight, which in reality was way more than it showed. I almost hated being pretty! I was absolutely sick of them talking about me that way. This was why I hated school. Not only that, but the girls on the bus hated me. None of them would be my friend. It wasn't because I wasn't pretty enough to be popular, God knows I was, but every girl at school was downright jealous of me. Well, not so much _me_ as my looks and deceiving appearances. That would have to be another thing I was sick of. The boys were afraid of me because they thought I was out of their league, and the girls were too jealous of me to so much as talk to me. Is a friend too much to ask for?

The bus slowed to a halt. One by one, all the students, including me, got out and then dispersed into a high-school frenzy of rushing to get to class on time. There was the usual jeering and shoving and pushing. I was never really one to be pushed around, but rather I wasn't the one to do the pushing either. Even though it was just about essential, I let as many people by as I could afford. It worked almost every time. The whole student body gave me the official nickname: the school's waitress. This was because I would do anything they wanted that didn't harm someone else.

Anger started hiding in my eyes, which, by the way, are said to be the windows to the soul. Must've meant I was angry or something... The first class was always the hardest, or so I've heard. I began concentrating as much as possible on the first announcement of the day. Something about a new course starting up today, then something about the lunch menu. I felt my mind wandering off, begging me to let it find the nearest bed. I kept slapping it awake. Mentally, at least. My brain seemed to keep slapping me right back and painted lovely images of sleeping, snoring, pillows, and blankets in my head. The bed was evil... It was _calling_ me! But the teacher's voice was so boring, I knew I'd fall asleep long before I could so much as think of a bed.

Before I knew it, it was lunch time. I was a bit more awake now, probably because I smelled food and we had last period lunch. I was starving, as usual. No surprise for me, but God forbid if someone else found out that I was _human_... It was completely abnormal the way people treated me! But no more ranting on about it. I waited my turn in line and as I did so, my one worst thought took center stage in my mind. Here it is in flashback form, if you're interested in knowing:

_An average-height man with short brown hair kneeled down in front of me. This action was followed by a small woman with dyed-blonde hair doing the same. At the time, I was so small my feet didn't even touch the ground as I was sitting on the couch with my little brother right beside me. He started talking about something I didn't understand. And as he did, I could feel an air of tension between my parents. I decided to pay attention for once to what he said._

_"Now sweetie, this is hard, and I'm sure you don't understand it, but... Well, your mother and I have been having a talk while you were watching television. We're getting a divorce." he softly told me, fear lurking in his voice._

_I knew I was crying, but for some reason I couldn't figure out why. I knew something was wrong. I had known for some time. But what was a divorce? Somehow I knew it was very bad._

_"Daddy, what's a divorce?" I asked, praying to God that it wasn't something bad, that I was just being paranoid._

_My brother couldn't even talk right yet. He was around two years old. I was around five or six. Since he was too young to understand, my brother just sat there, not knowing what to do or how to respond. He didn't know what a divorce was, either._

_"A divorce is..." he searched for the right way to explain this to his two extremely young kids, "It's something where me and your mother aren't going to live together anymore. But you'll still get to see us, okay?"_

_I knew it wasn't something I'd like. But to be told this? I was a wreck. I was crying, no, bawling, my eyes out._

At the time, I thought for sure I wasn't going to have a daddy anymore. Then I was positive of this after I was told who'd gotten custody of me and Sammy. I was so very young... I now know it was for the best, but still... I couldn't ever forget what a painful experience that had been for me. My brother probably doesn't remember it, so he's fine. But even to this day, I couldn't believe I was still suffering from something that happened ten years ago!

I watched through teary eyes as I picked up my food and went outside to eat. At times like these, I just wanted to be left alone. Throughout the entirety of the lunch period, I was undisturbed. But then when I made it back to class, I overheard some of the pre-class chatter from a small group of boys.

"Tsh-sh! Hey, look at Serena!" "I know! You see the size of those things?" "Man, I wish I could just bury my head in them!" "Dang, sometimes I wish I could switch bodies with her. Then I'd go to the ladies' room and.... Well, I don't kiss and tell." "I feel you." "Me too." "You know, I don't think there's a boy in this whole world who wouldn't give his left nut to be with her." "Truer words have never been spoken, my friend."

I looked down at a nowhere-near revealing shirt. I knew what they were talking about. I wasn't dumb. This is what I mean by abnormal. I was hot, gorgeous, and sexy. And you know what? I hated every last bit of it. Not one of them admired my personality! No, instead they admired my butt and breasts. Any other boy admired a different part of my body, like my legs or somewhere else sexual. I never wanted people to look at me that way. Sure, I would love very much to have a boyfriend, and I could get any boy I wanted just by talking to them. So what was holding me back? I wanted a boy who would be a _real_ gentleman and love me for me, not for my body. But there wasn't a boy like that in this school, or in the whole world for that matter... They only wanted me to keep as a trophy. And for that reason, I'd never had a date before.

I listened with hatred as the boys continued their incessant description of various female body parts and what they wanted to do with them if they ever got the chance. They kept going and going until finally one of them had enough courage to come up to me.

"Hey... Serena, right?" he said, pretending like he didn't know I existed. He was trying to be suave, but that old trick didn't fool me anymore. He was a real cutie, with nice biceps that weren't too big to make me scared and and he had a lean look to him. I won't go any further, I'm only gonna say that there were definitely body parts on him that I could've talked about for ages on end. But like I said before, he didn't want me for the reason I wanted him to want me. My looks were no more than a curse. While most girls think it'd be great to have my looks, they say the grass always looks greener on the other side. They must be really desperate for male attention, if you ask me, because this side was far from green!

"So, I heard about you and all. I was just, uh... Wondering if you wanted to come to dinner with me. Your choice." he coolly said.

"No." I instantaneously replied.

"It's a one-time offer." he persisted.

"Oh, gee, I think I'll have to sleep on that one." I said sarcastically.

"Alright, alright, I can take a hint. But I'll just ask one more time. You? Me? Dinner?"

"Tell me." I said suddenly, just wanting to make sure of something before I continued this charade."Why do you want to go out with me? You don't even know me."

"..." he hesitated, not knowing what to say. It was clear no girl had asked him this before. "Well, your eyes are quite charming. And you have a nice voice."

"Tsh. You mean a nice body. Just get outta here. I don't want to date you so move on to the next girl already."

The guy bolted. Finally! He hightailed it outta there and honestly, I was grateful. And here I was starting to think he'd never leave. Most guys were scared to come near me because they were very aware that they were out of my league. But that guy must've thought he was beyond in my league. Thought wrong. For me, a guy isn't supposed to be judged by his looks, but by what's in his heart. Too bad no one seemed to have figured that out yet. They must have thought that because I was pretty, I was also brainless. Nope!

* * *

I got off the school bus and ran to the door of my dad's house. I pulled a house key out of my backpack and unlocked the door. My dad greeted me. I fixed dinner and went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

The next morning was as usual. But little did I know that today was the day my whole view of life would be turned upside-down.

So I got on the bus and listened to the usual comments made about my body, which I think should be against the law to say those things about someone. I pushed through the crown to get to my locker, as usual. And finally, it was class. However, today was different.

"Good morning, class. I have an announcement." the teacher declared. Ooohh... An announcement! Yippee... We have one of those _every_ morning. Why is this one any different? The teacher continued. "We have a new student joining our school. Be nice for the first period, then you can tear down his social confidence later, okay?"

A handsome boy appeared shyly behind the teacher. He was quickly told to take a seat. Unfortunately for me, the only open seat was _right next to me_. Why was I the only girl in school who had this kind of luck? What did I do to deserve this? Anyway, he took the only available seat and grinned at me. Thinking he was grinning at my proportions, I put on my angry face and turned my head away from the disgusting little freak. I was trying to let him know I didn't like what he was thinking.

That moron just tilted his head in confusion. What, a girl never rejected you before? Oh well, that's not my problem. But you know what _was_ my problem? The fact that the teacher said I had to show him around school. I swear that teacher just _loves_ picking on her poor students, namely me. Why me, you ask? Who knows...

After that class, I had to show him around. My first act of business was to ask his name.

"Darien Shields." he said. Wow. That voice of his was so deep, it was almost profound... Very masculine, I must add. I could feel my heart skip a beat when he said that. But I wasn't going to set myself up just to be hurt. I acted like I didn't care about his voice or his name, even though I did.

"Yeah, okay. So, Darien, where do you wanna go first?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Well, don't we have classes to attend to? Ms... Uh..." he racked his brain for the right name.

"Serena. Serena Tsukino. And our classes were cut short so I could show you around." I answered.

"Serena. That's a very pretty name. I like it." he said.

I swear to God I felt my heart skip about thirty beats that time! No one had ever complimented my name before.

"Th-Thanks..." I said breathlessly, "Your name is nice as well." It was so obvious I was blushing. But I just couldn't help it!

He looked right past the blushing and asked me if I could take him to the cafeteria first. It was lunch time, anyway. That was when my stomach decided to make its statement in our conversation. It growled, not grumbled, at me. Of course, this didn't help at all. I was blushing even more now!

"Hey!" he said cheerfully, "Look at that! Your stomach is very demanding."

Oh, man... When he looked at me with those eyes... Whew... Wow... I still don't know for sure, but I think I started to drool a little. How. Embarrassing. "Y-Yes, it is."

* * *

At the cafeteria, Darien and I sat at different tables. My table was close enough that I could her Darien's voice. He was talking with another male of the human species.

"Hey, Darien?" Darien's newfound friend asked. As soon as Darien turned his head, his friend continued, "So I saw you with Serena today. Dude, I don't think you realize what a lucky stroke you got! Getting _her_ to show you around the school! Man, I'm so jealous! You know she's like the hottest girl in school, right?"

Darien thought for a second, then answered, "Well, yes, I do think she's an attractive lady," he paused.

I knew it...

Then he continued, "However, I don't think that's quite what I like about her."

HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN WRONG?

"Darien, man, whatcha talkin' about? What else is there to like?" another boy asked, one that had obviously overheard the twosome's conversation.

"Well, I mean she _does_ have good proportions, and yes, she _does_ have great looks, but...I don't look for those things in a woman." he replied.

"Huh?" It was obvious no one else understood. The losers...

"I think she's really smart, spontaneous, funny, and fun to be around. Those are some of the traits I look for. I think I just haven't seen any of them from her yet because she might think I'm just like you guys."

"What are talking about 'just like us'?"

"Have you ever put yourself in her shoes? You guys only look at her body, and I'm pretty sure she knows it. Haven't you ever thought for a second she might be tired of being looked at that way? If I were her, I know I would be tired of it."

Oh my gosh... He really _does_ understand me! Okay, maybe he's not all that bad a guy, after all.

"So you mean to tell me that you haven't looked at her body _at all_?" one of them questioned.

"Well, I have, but just not in the way you guys do. I don't lust after her like you. I just want to get to know her, at least. Then, if she wants, I'll be happy to be her friend. However, if things go beyond friendship, then it goes beyond friendship. It's not that I don't care, I just want to be sure she's okay with everything. If she doesn't want to be my girlfriend, then she doesn't have to be."

"So you just expect us to believe you're this innocent guy who only cares about her personality?"

"That's right." he plainly replied.

* * *

I sat at my table, feeling no need to rush my eating like everyone else did. So, he _did_ care about my personality! The first one ever! I felt like running up to him, giving him a big hug, and thanking him. Actually, I felt like hanging all over him and kissing him all over until he had lipstick painting his face. For the first time I felt like one of my classmates actually cared about me as a person. And unless you've been there, done that, you don't _know_ how good it feels to be cared about by someone other than your family. It feels like you're being renewed as a person!

And when he said 'go beyond friendship', well... Let's just say I was really hoping it would. But even if it didn't, I'd be more than happy to be his friend, in the least.

And that's when it struck me: I was in love with him! Head over heels in love with him!

The lunch bell rang right at that moment. Perfect.

Right before Darien left the lunch room, I held him back. When everyone left, I pulled him into the kitchen. There were leftovers and it stunk of cafeteria food, but that was the last thing I was focused on. Darien. That was the only thing I was focused on.

Unfortunately, my plans to stay in the kitchen and talk to him there were ruined by a lunch lady, who was yelling at us to get out. We obeyed.

Out in the empty cafeteria, which also stunk of cafeteria food, I rearranged my plans to talk to Darien. I wanted to let him know I'd overheard him and thank him for what he'd said. He was a real lifesaver to me. My hero. I know it sounds cliche, but it's true. He was my hero.

"Darien..." I started, realizing I was losing all my confidence for the first time ever. Why was it this hard? "I...overheard you...talking." I managed.

"Y-You did? Okay! You know what? I can explain! I was-"

"N-No... I' sorry." I said, breaking off his sentence before he had a chance to make a complete fool of himself.

"What? Why are sorry? You didn't even do anything."

"Yes, I did. I thought you were...you know."

He cocked his head in confusion. "What does 'you know' mean?"

I tried to answer him, I really did. But I couldn't. I couldn't tell him that I thought he was looking at my body this whole time; that I thought he was just another perverted guy. I looked down, totally ashamed of myself for just _assuming_ things. I should've looked into this first...

I had to calm down, fast. I could already feel my face getting red and tears coming to my eyes. Immediately I ran over to the furthest stool away from Darien, trying to think of anything other than him. Nothing was working! I couldn't let Darien see me cry, though... I didn't know why, but I just didn't like people seeing me cry, thinking I was weak or a crybaby or that I couldn't take a little pressure. I tried to focus on bloody battlefields and McDonald's chicken nuggets and sweet tea. Not helping. I soon found myself trying to focus on brownies and other chocolaty delights. The best stuff was made by Hershey's brand.

It wasn't long before I heard Darien's footsteps coming ever so closer. Closer... Closer... And still closer... I didn't try to move or get away, mainly because there was a wall not too far from where I was sitting. I tensed noticeably as I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. A friendly touch, one that meant Darien didn't want any trouble and just wanted me to feel better. I responded by shrugging it off, making sure he knew just how upset I was.

I heard him trying to walk around me, probably trying to look me in the face. I moved so my back followed the sound of his footsteps. He walked in the opposite direction, and I moved my back, again, to follow the sound of his footsteps. H walked in the opposite direction he was just walking and I did the same thing. This action showed remorse at first, but it soon looked more like a childish game than anything else. I smiled after awhile of this, knowing he wasn't going to easily give up. Then, the next thing I knew, I was laughing at how child-like I was being.

Eventually I stopped moving and let him see my face. I pouted, as though I was still upset, but apparently my smile was showing through the mask I'd put over it because Darien scooped me up in those muscular arms of his and tossed me up into the air. It wasn't high enough to make him drop me when I came back down, but it was high enough to scare me in a friendly way.

Eventually I had to give in. I kept screaming stop and laughing right after I screamed it. As soon as he finally put me down I pouted again and turned my back toward him.

"You aren't easy, are you?" he said, "If you don't stop, I'm gonna have to bring out the big guns, Serena."

What on earth was he talking about? Big guns? What was that? Or those, whichever. I soon found out.

He grabbed my sides and furiously tickled them. I burst into spontaneous laughter and pleaded for him to stop. But the man was relentless. I thrashed and squirmed but nothing would work! This guy was pure evil... He didn't cease his tickle torture for a whole ten minutes. By the time he stopped, at last, I was completely breathless.

He looked at my face and instead of pouting, this time I smiled, even though my lungs were telling me to let them regain enough oxygen before I smiled. He smiled back, and I swear to you, I've never seen a smile quite like his. He offered me one of his hands. When I took it in my own, he helped me up. Oooohhh... Chivalry.

I was no longer feeling down or remorseful. I was glad, because now I knew he was my friend. He'd be there for me when I needed him. It was a great feeling to have, actually. Now, maybe we could take this a step further. But I knew we had a long ways to go before that happened. We had to get to know each other much better than we did now. But I could wait; I was in no rush to hurry things or speed them up. All I would do is wait, and have fun while I was waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

A month later was another class day. I greatly enjoyed last month because I made a new friend, Darien, and my classes, thank God, were cut short so I could show my new friend around. But now it was back to listening to the evolution, which I don't believe in, and dead people and a bunch of numbers I can hardly understand... Why did God create schools? Aren't our parents supposed to teach us? Because when I'm dead and gone, I wanna have a word or two with God about this whole school thing. It's literally driving me up the wall!

In homeroom, another bold boy came up to me and, before he could even ask, I said no. "But, I haven't even asked you yet!"

"You're gonna ask me out, right?" I said in rebuttal, hoping he'd flee like the parasite he was. I saw Darien look my way. He didn't want me to say yes to this loser.

"Well, yeah..." the boy answered.

"No." I repeated. I hate having to repeat myself. Why can't people just listen the first time? Then none of us would have to waste our breath!

"Are you sure, Serena? I got a million girls lined up for the job." he said. Yeah, right.

"Well, I'm definitely not one of 'em." Oh! Burn's on _you_, pal!

"I'm like, one of the most popular guys in school! How in God's name could you turn down this opportunity?" he persisted.

Darien had finally had enough. He stood up with an angry look on his face and yelled, "Leave her alone! She said no!" Thank you, God, for sending Darien here! You've blessed me so well! Forget what I said about the school thing, okay?

"Oh, well would you look at that? Serena Tsukino has to have someone defend her! How weak!" The little fungus proceeded to laugh his ugly little head off. ALL RIGHT, THAT DID IT!

I, too, stood up and asked the boy if he knew what defense _really_ was. He said yes. Heh heh heh... Sucker. I asked him if he knew another name for a lollipop. He said sucker. "Exactly." I growled. The next thing that hit the boy was my fist. I sunk my fist into his face and everyone can just forget about the whole "weaker sex" thing. Girls rule, buys drool, that's all I'm gonna say.

I waited by the door until the teacher walked in. She saw the helpless victim of my counterattack laying on the floor, his cheek slightly puffy and reddening. "He asked you out, wouldn't lay off, and you sucker punched him." she observed, as she had seen it a hundred times.

"Ayup." I answered, holding my hand out, my eyes pleading for a detention note. As she started writing, Darien came up to me and asked what I was doing. "Getting myself a free ride outta boy-ville." The teacher handed me the note and I walked toward the office.

Darien asked the teacher if he could go talk to me. She said, "Knock yourself out." He nodded and quickly caught up with me.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"Serena! You just KOd that kid!" he stated the obvious.

I stopped dead in my tracks. "I have my reasons."

"What reason could you possibly have for-"

"He touched me." I whispered, interrupting Darien as I did.

"What was that?" Darien asked, not having heard me.

"A year ago that 'innocent kid' touched me. I just paid him back today." I answered, knowing Darien would never do such a thing.

"Wait, where'd he touch you, Serena?" he asked, his eyes softening.

"He asked me out and when I turned him down he grabbed my breasts and asked if I was sure." I told him. Part of me was embarrassed, but part of me wanted him to know this.

"You never told me that, Serena. Has anyone else touched you?" Darien's eyes were suddenly filled with a protective wildness.

"Once, but it was an accident. Someone tripped and fell on me. They've already apologized about a million times." I said.

"Well, I'm sorry for what happened. I wish I could've been there to prevent it. But I promise I'll never touch you!" Darien assured me. WHOO! GO DARIEN!

I continued walking, and Darien caught up with me again, recovering from the shock he'd gotten when I told him what happened between me and that boy.

"How many times a day do you get harassed by these guys?" he asked, blushing.

I had no idea why he'd blush at a question like that, but I answered anyway, "At least twice."

"Oh. Do you...think if you had a boyfriend they'd stop?" he continued, still blushing.

I started to blush a little at the mention of a boyfriend, but I still answered him, "Probably."

"Well, if you want, we could pretend..." He blushed beyond belief and took a huge, nervous breath before continuing, "...to be a couple."

I felt like my face had steam coming out of it! How on earth was I supposed to prepare for that question? "W-Well..." I began, "It...certainly might...help." Could this be Darien's way of asking me out? Because it was working like a charm.

"So... Should I take that as a...yes?" he asked politely.

"U-Um... Y-Yeah, sure." Neither of us could really stop blushing after that little chat. But Darien was right. Perhaps if people thought I had a boyfriend, they would shut up and leave me alone. Or at least the boys, anyway. The girls would probably be even angrier at me because they thought I was dating one of the hottest, if not _the_ hottest, guys/guy in school. Actually, few girls in this school had a boyfriend because of me. There's another reason they hate me so much.

"Hey, Serena?" Darien caught my attention, trying to slide into a different subject and release the weird atmosphere hanging over us.

"Hm?" Answer a question with a question. That's all I've learned from life. Isn't that just wonderful?

"Do you ever cuss?" he asked, no longer blushing.

"Nope. The only time I've ever cussed is when I was asking my mom what the cuss word meant. When I asked her what the F-word meant, she washed my mouth out with soap. Never said that word since then." I answered, my blush fading away.

"I never cuss either. I don't think it makes people look cool or older or more mature, it just makes them look like someone I don't wanna be friends with or hang out with." he said.

"That's what me and my family thinks, too." I told him. I would have to warn him about my father if he ever wanted to come to my house. My dad was boy-crazy. He never wanted me to date or get married. And children? Don't even mention it to him.

A random boy walked up to me and asked me if I wanted to go out with him.

Here was my chance! "Sorry, I'm taken." I said, my blush returning swiftly.

"Wha-? By who? You never date anyone!" he retorted.

I grabbed a speechless Darien's arm. "By Darien, duh! Haven't you heard the news? I finally picked a boyfriend!" I said, giggling. I was trying to seal the deal.

Meanwhile, Darien was about to pass out from embarrassment. He didn't _actually_ think it would work!

The boy ran off, grunting to himself.

When I was sure he was gone, I sighed and said, "There. That should just about do it."

Darien asked what I meant.

"News travels fast around here. Soon that kid will tell his friends, and they'll tell their friends, and so on and so forth. Soon it'll be a rumor floating around the school." I explained.

* * *

Sure enough, when we got back to class, everyone swarmed us, asking if the rumors were true. We could only say yes.

The teacher wasn't among the swarm. She was right beside me. "You're pretending to be Darien's boyfriend so they'll leave you alone."

I blushed in response. She was good...

Then she smiled. She saw my blush. "You little fox! You really _do_ wanna hook up with him, don't you?"

I blushed even worse than before. She was good... She went back to her desk laughing.

I was the first out of the crowd, then I fished Darien out of it.

That good ole teacher ordered everyone back to their seats so she could continue her lesson. I returned to my seat and Darien sat in his, right beside mine. We didn't exchange notes or anything. We already knew what the other was thinking. It was working.

Two boys were chatting next to me.

"Can you believe she's off-limits?" one asked the other.

"I know! It's like a horrible dream or a sweet nightmare!" the other answered.

YES! It was totally working!

* * *

The next class wasn't as bad. Biology was my favorite class, and luckily Darien chose that course. However, I already had a lab partner. There was only one person in the class who didn't have one: Amy. I didn't know Amy too well, but she didn't need a lab partner since she was the class genius.

Darien ended up having to be her lab partner anyway.

I hated every last bit of it! That Amy better keep her hands off him. I mean, I knew she didn't look interested, but looks could be deceiving. And girls were serious backstabbers. Boys think that if a girl dates their friend, the girl is automatically off-limits, whereas girl just think, 'Oh, goodie! He's up for grabs!'.

Today we had to dissect a flower. That wasn't really bad, but I knew we'd be getting to animals soon enough.

Me and my lab partner, who's a real jerk, tore off the sepals and petals. Then we moved to the anthers and stigma. We ended up fighting, for the millionth time this semester. Then we dissected the ovaries and other remaining parts.

* * *

Lunch finally came around. I tell you, the only thing worse than a woman hungry, is a woman scorned. And I was hungry. That's right, all you boys out there. I was a hungry woman. And in the cafeteria, even a nice girl would beat a girl down to get her food. I had no problem doing that. And my luck! Today was taco day! I _loved_ Mexican food!

I pushed through the crowd and smacked my lips. I could smell the meat and its spiciness. I got like a hundred tacos and was on my way to find a seat next to Darien.

Darien was greeted with a plate being balanced on his head, held by a set of hands holding it so it wouldn't fall over. "Hey, Serena." he greeted back.

I slid the plate off his head and set it on the table so I could begin eating.

"Oh my God! Serena, how many tacos did you get?" he asked, laughing.

"Hey! At least I eat what I want. Most girls go on their dumb little diets and starve themselves by developing an eating disorder. I can try all I want, and I won't gain a single pound. So just let me enjoy my high metabolism while it lasts!" I fired back. He just laughed again. Hey, as long as he doesn't ask my weight, I'm good.

"Can I have one?" he asked teasingly. He reached out a hand.

"No!" I slapped his hand away.

"C'mon, give me a taco. Me want taco." he replied gruffly. I knew he was only playing.

"You don't get taco." I replied, also gruffly.

"Taco good." he persisted.

"Good for me, not good for you. You get fat on taco." I warned him.

"Then so will you!" He started cracking up.

"You want taco? Here taco!" I crammed a taco in his already open mouth. I didn't shove the whole thing in, nor did I push it in far enough to make him choke.

"Hrm hrm hrmhrm hrm..." he mumbled.

"You should know not to talk with food in your mouth." I said. Now it was my turn to laugh.

We spent the rest of our lunch making silly comments about our looks or our futures and how we were an 'official couple' now. Tsh! Yeah, right. I _wish_! Hopefully Darien did, too. So far his courtship was going well. If he didn't screw up, he might just be okay! Oh, and on our first date, he better take me to a Mexican restaurant!

* * *

We rode the same bus home. I'd had one of the best days ever with him! He and I sat next to each other. It wasn't because we _had_ to, but we _wanted_ to. Darien wanted to be near me and I wanted to be near him just as much. I blushed as I thought of an idea.

I snuggled up to Darien.

"What're you doing?" he asked. It didn't seem to bother him.

"Just in case anyone has any doubts." I answered. I closed my eyes, but didn't go to sleep.

It wasn't long before I felt Darien kiss the top of my hair. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just in case anyone has any doubts." he replied.


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

It had been a month since I had first pretended to be Darien's girlfriend. Things were going very well for us as a fake couple. But I was noticing how much we'd grown on each other. We always sat together at lunch. We always sat next to each other on the bus and in homeroom. And we always had a good time. We talked and chatted and got to know each other much better. We made each other laugh. We enjoyed the other's presence. It was alot like siblings, except there was an X-factor to our relationship.

But there were still some boys who were coming up to me and asking for dates, among other things. Today I needed to talk to Darien about stepping it up a notch. Now, how we were going to take it higher was completely unknown, but I was positive I'd think of something. Eventually.

I quickly spotted him in the hall. Since he almost always wore a pea-green jacket, he was fairly easy to pick out amongst the crowd of bustling schoolmates. Kinda like a pea-green gem in a sea of drab and bore. This was my chance! I avoided being trampled by cliques and other such coupes, all the while making my way towards my feign boyfriend.

The man I stood before greeted me heartily. "Hey, Serena."

I smiled, enjoying spending even this much time with him. "Hey. Listen, I want to talk to you about something."

Unfortunately, before Darien could give his opinion on the subject, the school bell rang with one of the most annoying tones ever. I couldn't decided what was worse: a school bell or an alarm clock. One of them rudely disrupts your sleep, while the other signals a day full of hard work and pop quizzes.

"Sorry, we'll have to talk later. If I'm late again, Mrs. Carol will drown me in detentions!" he said.

I nodded understandingly. Though it may seem ironic, Mrs. Carol was the school's chorus director. She also happened to be the meanest, most spiteful teacher in the entire state. She wouldn't allow anyone to be even a few seconds late, or else they would suffer a harsh lecture and detention. Luckily, I didn't sign up for chorus. Darien did because he thought I was exaggerating when I told him about her.

I waved goodbye and mentally cursed myself. Darn the luck I had with timing lately... But I had to make it to my own classes.

I had band; I played the alto saxophone. Contrary to popular belief, the sax wasn't just used in jazz music; there were many uses for it. It added a certain sense of refinement to the tunes. But it was incredulously hard on your lungs. Probably worse than the tuba. And it could do quite a number on your fingers. Once I pinched my pinkie finger just by pressing the wrong key! The next day I had a bruise the size of a bite-sized Snickers candy bar. I had to skip several practices and an orchestra after that. I think orchestras are the hardest to do because I have serious stage fright. I usually can't look at the audience, and if I'm lucky I won't freeze up during a performance.

And then there was the time my reed cracked. I had forgotten to replace it and it began to dry out and crack. I hadn't noticed at first, but once my tongue got stuck in one of the bigger cracks, it became hard to ignore. After that incident, I spent hours plucking splinters from my poor, abused tongue. All I'll say is that there was alot of pain involved.

I went off to my band class, thinking about how a fun-sized candy bar wasn't very fun. Why'd they call it fun-sized if they're SMALLER than a regular or king-size candy bar? That's not very fun if you ask me. In fact it sucks. Think of all those kids looking forward to Halloween candy and then getting one of those crappy little rip-offs. Sure, there may be other houses to go to, but that hardly compensates for the fact that all you really have in your bucket is tiny lil' squirts of a Hershey's bar or an M&M pack that'll only last you until next week. And that's if you're lucky!

I hardly realized I was standing in front of my teacher with my saxophone in my hands, waiting for his instructions.

"Alright, class. We seem to have two people absent today from the flute section and one person from the saxophone." He turned to me and continued, "Serena, because we don't have many people who play sax, you'll have to make up for their absence. Don't miss a note, and this time, make sure your reed is properly placed."

"Yes, sir." I said as I put my fingers on the right keys. I ran my tongue smoothly over my reed; it was properly placed and didn't have any cracks.

Now ready, the flute players started off a beautiful melody while our three tuba players gradually joined in. A few high-pitched notes, and it was the clarinets' turn to play. The flutes stopped for a bit while the others were still playing, and I awaited my turn. Once the first few notes of the flutes were done sounding, I took my cue and played a solid B minor. It was a good thing I had strong lungs because this note seemed to play forever. Once my turn was over, I released my mouth from my sax and inhaled deeply. I rapidly put my mouth back over the mouthpiece when I saw my teacher give me a curious look.

To my left, I heard an offhand note and glanced at the source. Another saxophone player winked at me, trying his best to be suave. It wasn't working. I rolled my eyes, hoping he'd take the hint, and began playing my short solo. The instructor hadn't heard him play a wrong key. He was lucky, because the teacher's girlfriend had recently dumped him pretty hard and left for someone else. It would be a harsh punishment if something major were to go wrong now.

My solo now over, I dropped both my arms and let my fingers rest. My solo may have been short, but it had been hard because of all the different keys I had to press at the same time. Plus, I could now afford to let them rest because the song was ending and I didn't have to play anymore.

The flutes let their music flitter about the room. The tubas stopped playing altogether and let their own arms rest. Then there were two. The clarinets, with which the song would end, and the flutes took turns playing several two-second solos before the flutes dropped out and rested as well. Now the clarinets were playing completely solo. One half of the clarinet group stopped playing as the other half continued on for a short while with their faces turning redder by the minute. Everyone's face did that after a song, so it was nothing to worry about. Eventually the song came to a single-note ending.

Our instructor stopped his metronome and applauded lightly. "Well done, class. I'm glad you've learned that song and been able to play it properly, because tomorrow we have a big concert! I hope you hadn't forgotten about it. Oh, and Serena, I know you didn't have many other players to help you out with your solo, and I'm very proud of you. You've managed to play every correct note on cue! You have definitely earned my respect."

"Thank you, Mr. Wilson." I said happily. To be thanked by him was pretty rare; to be praised by him was unheard of; to receive both on the same day wouldn't even have crossed your mind.

"Class dismissed for today. I'm giving you the rest of this class period to do what you want. Hopefully it'll be about schoolwork this time..." he continued, casting a quick glance at a now-blushing tuba player.

Everyone got up in a jumble of a high-school frenzy. Everyone wanted to get some of their biology essay done and maybe some math homework done as well. I could do the biology essay later; I liked bio anyway. Right now I was doing poorly in math, so I had to up my grades lest I be held back. I was in Economics and Geometry, which wasn't nearly as easy as it looked. I missed the days where you just needed to measure an angle or two. But now was terror! There were so many corollaries and theorems and informal facts I had to study, and then find what contradicted them! God, how I hated Geometry and Economics...

I saw a few stragglers walking in the hallway. They were probably really late for some class. Man, I felt bad for those poor saps. Most teachers in our school wouldn't tolerate tardiness. If they saw you tardy after about five minutes, they'd give you automatic detention and there was no reasoning with them.

I decided to go out with them, since my class was already over. Besides, I really hoped to gain a female friend by going out and finding one. Though I knew it was next to impossible, I still wanted to give it a shot. I just needed to look for someone who wasn't full of rivalry towards me. And I say 'rivalry' because they're mad I always have the guys eating from my palms.

I slipped silently out of the class, knowing it was okay because of my outstanding performance in band today. There were a few girls, but most were boys. For some strange reason, there were far more tardy students than usual; I couldn't help but wonder why. I snuck up on a clique and happened to find out a good amount of information. Apparently, a teacher had called in really sick on too short a notice to find a substitute. Perfect! This would be the best opportunity to find a new friend, if possible. Either that, or it was wait until a new student arrived.

I tapped on the girl's shoulder, asking her what she was doing out here. Hey, c'mon. It was an effort to start a conversation. But then she turned to look at me, and her face twisted in jealousy.

"Tsh, Serena. It's _you_." she spat.

"Uh, yeah." I replied, my heart sinking. So went my hopes of a friend.

"What do you want? Don't you have a guy to date or something?" she asked, pretending to be annoyed with me already.

"Well, no, actually. I was wondering what so many people were doing out here." I proclaimed.

"Didn't you hear?" she said as though I was worthless and pathetic, "A teacher called in sick, so we have no History class today."

"Oh. I didn't know. I have History next period, so-"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just go back to whatever boyfriend you currently have!" she interrupted.

I moved away from her, a little angry. What on earth did I do to make her so upset with me? See, this is why I never talk to any of the girls at our school! It never ends well.

As I was leaning against a locker, wondering why my life had to be this way, some random guy came up to me. He asked me if I would go on a date with him. He said it was because as pretty as I was, I most certainly must be 'experienced' in 'dating'.

Naturally and partially by force of habit, I rejected his offer to treat me to dinner.

Only two feet from me, he took just three steps and instantly closed the distance. "Are you sure, sweetheart?"

Feeling threatened by his sudden approach, I vigorously shook my head. Something about this one seemed...different. More sinister and overall eerie.

"When a girl says no, she really means yes." he said, a wicked smile creeping over his face.

I tried to slide out of the personal bubble invasion, but he put his arm against the locker, preventing me from going _anywhere_. I tried the other side, but he blocked me the same way. But, finding this inappropriate, he quickly took his arm down and pressed his body against mine. I could only gulp as I watched his eyes fill to the brim with lust.

As much as I wanted to scream and call for help, something kept me from doing so. I couldn't make a single sound out of fear. He put both his hand around my hips and smoothly wrapped them around me.

"You know, you have a nice figure." he purred.

I opened my mouth, readying myself to retaliate, but he assaulted me in a kiss attack. I tried my best to push him off of me, but my strength couldn't even rival his. I got scared, more frightened by his bold nature. I kept trying until tears stung at my eyes.

Everyone completely ignored this scene, thinking I had a new boyfriend that I was getting serious with. Oh, how I wanted to tell them to help me, that this wasn't what they thought it was. God, how I wished Darien were here... He'd stop this for sure.

The school bell rang, but not even this stopped him from continuing his assault. I pulled my head sideways, ultimately breaking free of his rough kiss. Not yet satisfied, he planted much softer but still pretty rough kisses that lead further and further down my neck. I instinctively slammed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth as hard as I could when his furtive kissing began going lower than my neck.

Just when I thought something much worse than a kiss was going to happen, he was yanked off me. I opened my eyes to find my rescuer, Darien, holding the hormone-filled boy by the collar of his shirt. His eyes were looking intensely and furiously into my abuser's. Meanwhile, my abuser's eyes were scared beyond belief. After his little adventure with me, it was highly unlikely he was getting off the hook so easily.

"The girl said no." Darien growled angrily.

The guy in his grip didn't say anything except, "I got further with her than you ever will."

The anger on Darien's face grew fiery and heated. He literally threw the boy to the ground. "If you come near her again, I'll _personally_ make sure your efforts were in vain!"

The boy picked himself up and dusted himself off so casually that it made _me_ mad. I couldn't have imagined the rage Darien was feeling at this moment.

Turning his attention from the boy to me, he asked me if I was okay.

I didn't respond. I just stayed in my position, shuddering from the event that had just occurred. I recognized that, if not for Darien, I might have been raped. But any gratitude was overpowered by shame. Though I should have thanked him, I found myself speechless once again. The only response my body gave him was tears. Normally, it would seem like a moment only found in movies, but the fact that I had been unable to defend myself was simply...overbearing. I wrapped my arms around myself and kept crying, not caring for a second that it was in front of Darien.

Darien's eyes softened and instead of anger, they now held passion and sorrow. "It's okay now." he whispered, like a father to a child. He pulled me into an embrace which I didn't attempt to resist. If anything, I was happy to be in his arms, rather than that other guy's.

"You don't think of me like that, do you, Darien?" I asked-sobbed, realizing the guy who had assaulted me was the same guy from my band class.

"Like what?" he asked into my hair.

"Like a sex toy." I replied, causing only more tears to fall at the mention of the phrase.

He pulled back, slightly offended I would even think that, but then answered, "Of course not. You're my best friend, and moreso a human being."

I nodded, helping myself to snuggle into his shirt. And wow. His pecs were strong! No wonder that guy ran off! These were some high-quality muscles. Luckily for me, I could count on these muscles to protect me from such dangers as sex offenders. I felt so safe with him...


End file.
